Ryan's First Ski Trip
by millstone1005
Summary: [Complete] Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.
1. Prologue

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 1 - Prologue **

"I assure you, Sandy, I will be there. The kids will be fine."

"Thanks, Carson." Sandy hung up the phone.

Sandy and Kirsten had been worried about the kids going on this ski trip on their own, unsupervised, after the golfing trip to Palm Springs where Oliver's parents were supposed to be there and it turned out Oliver lied and they were never coming. But they hated to refuse to let Ryan and Seth go away for the weekend with their friends. After the whole Oliver fiasco, things really needed to get back to normal.

That's why Sandy was relieved to know that Luke's father, Carson Ward, was definitely going to be there this weekend to keep an eye on Luke, Ryan, Seth, Summer, Anna, and Marissa.

Sandy smiled to himself. Seth and Summer had just started dating, and Sandy knew that they were sleeping together. They were going to be a handful. Ryan and Marissa, on the other hand, were no longer dating. Sandy didn't know exactly what had happened between them. All he knew what that they were trying to be friends, but he didn't know if that was going to work since they'd never been just friends.

* * *

On Friday evening, Carson and Luke arrived at the ski resort at Big Bear first. Well, not entirely first. Carson's new boyfriend Keith was already there waiting for him. Carson had hated misleading Sandy Cohen about the extent of his parental supervision plans for this weekend, but he knew that if he hadn't, Sandy wouldn't have let Seth and Ryan come.

Carson had been planning this weekend getaway with his lover, and Luke had kind of blackmailed him into letting him and his friends come along. Carson wasn't really planning on "supervising" them very much. He was going to be busy. Carson figured that the kids were old enough to take care of themselves, mostly, but he would be around in case there was an emergency, like a skiing accident or someone getting into trouble.

When Carson and Luke walked into the lobby of the resort, Carson smiled when he saw Keith sitting there waiting for him, with all his bags. Keith was as bad as his soon-to-be ex-wife Meredith when it came to packing. As Carson approached, Keith smiled in response and stood up. Carson really wanted to kiss Keith right then and there, but even though they weren't in the closet any more, he didn't like to advertise, either. Especially with Luke standing right there. He knew seeing this sort of thing made Luke uncomfortable. So Carson and Keith both contented themselves with smiling at each other and bumping their shoulders a little bit as they started walking together towards the front desk.

Luke quietly put some distance between himself and his father. He hated this part. He had steeled himself to deal with seeing his father with his boyfriend (god, he hated calling him that), but it still freaked him out. But he'd have to live with it, at least until they had checked in and gone to their separate rooms. Luke had made sure that his father's room was on a different floor than his and the other kids' rooms.

Luke followed his father as he went up to the front desk and checked in. Once the desk clerk had handed Luke his room key, he couldn't get out of there fast enough. He took his leave of his father, went up to his room and dropped his dufflebag off, and went back downstairs to wait for the other guys. He hoped to not see his father for the rest of the weekend, until it was time to go home on Sunday night.

* * *

The next to arrive was the Cohens' Range Rover with Seth, Summer, Ryan, and Marissa. The drive up to Big Bear reminded Ryan of the trip that the four of them took to Tijuana. Seth and Summer had argued the entire way about the music and anything else they could think of. Ryan and Marissa sat in the back seat, uncomfortable with each other, and didn't say a word the entire way.

When they arrived at the resort, Summer insisted on getting a bellhop to handle their bags for them. Well, mostly to handle her bags. And Seth had no objections. Summer's bags were heavy. Everyone else got along with at most two bags for the weekend, but Summer of course had to bring four very large and heavy suitcases. He didn't know why she thought she'd need so many clothes.

As the four of them walked into the resort's lobby, Ryan was glad to see Luke there waiting for them. Finally, someone that he could just relax with, after the strain of being with Marissa for two hours. Ryan and Luke were going to share a room. Normally they wouldn't, but things got a little messy when Seth and Summer had insisted upon rooming together.

They told all their parents that Ryan and Seth would share a room, paid for by Kirsten and Sandy. Summer and Marissa were going to share a room, paid for by Summer's father, since Marissa's parents couldn't afford this sort of trip right now. Luke was supposed to have a room to himself, paid for by his father. And Anna also had her own room, paid for by her parents. All of the rooms were booked with two queen size beds.

After Seth and Summer wanted to share a room, they had to shuffle everyone around. If Ryan and Marissa were still dating, Ryan would have just switched with Summer and that would be that. But Ryan and Marissa weren't dating any more, so they had to get more creative. It ended up, with six people and four rooms, that Seth and Summer had one room, Ryan and Luke had another room, and Marissa and Anna each had their own rooms. The only other alternative was for Marissa and Anna to room together, but this way seemed better. And Ryan was actually looking forward to spending some more time with Luke, now that Seth had Summer, which really cut into Seth-Ryan time.

When Luke saw the four of them walk in, he got up to meet them. The now five of them went up to the front desk so that Seth and Summer could check into the two rooms that their parents were paying for. After checking in, Seth kept his key and Summer handed her key to Marissa. They all went upstairs so that Ryan could drop his dufflebag in Luke's room, and Seth and Summer could unload all of their bags into their room, and Marissa could do the same in hers.

Then they all went back downstairs to the lobby to hang out and wait for the remaining member of their group, Anna.

* * *

Anna arrived last, in her convertible. She was really looking forward to this weekend in one way, but dreading it in another way.

She really loved skiing, and went all the time back home in Pennsylvania. That was one of the things she missed by living in southern California. This was only the second time she'd been able to get in some skiing this winter, if you can call it "winter".

On the other hand, she wasn't looking forward to this trip because she'd have to be around Seth and Summer. She was still in love with Seth, and even though she was the one to break up with him, it still hurt. She had been seriously considering moving back to Pittsburgh and living with her Aunt and Uncle, but hadn't gotten up the courage yet to ask her parents.

When Anna arrived at the ski resort, she was surprised and happy to see everyone there waiting for her. She wasn't really all that close friends with any of them except for Seth. They all got up and joined her as she checked into her room, then they all went upstairs. After Anna dropped off her bags in her room, the six of them all piled into Luke and Ryan's room to discuss their plans for the next two days.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

To Be Continued 


	2. Saturday Brunch

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews. As several of you said, there are many possible storylines based on this setup. I hope you guys like the storyline I've chosen. Note that this is primarily a Ryan story.

* * *

** Chapter 2 - Saturday Brunch **

On Saturday morning, Ryan was lying on his back in his hotel room bed, looking at the ceiling and thinking. He briefly glanced over at the other bed and saw that Luke was still fast asleep. They all agreed last night to sleep in a little and go to brunch at 10 O'Clock as a group, then go off to their chosen activities, more-or-less separately.

But Ryan was a morning person, so he was awake already. He had a hard time sleeping late, even when it would make sense to do so. At times like these, he tried really hard not to remember why he could never sleep late. He occupied his mind thinking of other things.

Ryan continued to stare at the ceiling and think until the alarm clock went off. He reached over and turned it off. There were signs of life from Luke, but it looked to Ryan like he wasn't really awake yet.

"Luke. Hey, man, wake up."

Luke turned over and looked at Ryan. He yawned. "Morning. Hey, why don't you take your shower first?"

Ryan smiled. "Sure."

Ryan got up, grabbed his clothes for the day, and headed into the bathroom to take his shower.

* * *

Ryan and Luke were a little late getting down to the resort's restaurant for brunch. Ryan had to wait for Luke to finish getting ready. Luke was not a morning person. At the restaurant, they went directly to the buffet to get their food. While they were there, they both spotted Luke's father sitting at a table nearby, eating his brunch with his friend. Carson saw them too. He waved. Luke waved back, then went back to getting his food.

Once they had filled their plates, Luke and Ryan went over to their table and joined Seth, Summer, Marissa, and Anna. Although by the time they got there, Anna was almost done with her meal, and the others were close to halfway there.

As Ryan and Luke approached the table, Seth snarked, "Well, look who decided to join us."

Ryan gave Seth one of his looks.

As Ryan and Luke sat down, 'heys' were exchanged all around.

Ryan looked at Seth and Summer and joked, "I didn't think I'd see you guys here at all."

Seth tried to glare at Ryan in an imitation of what Ryan does so well, but Seth couldn't pull it off.

Ryan suppressed a smile. "I mean, I thought you guys were going to spend the entire weekend in the hotel room."

Summer glared at Seth and hit him on the arm. "Cohen!"

The rest of the group laughed.

Seth grabbed his arm. "Ow. What? I never said we were going to do that."

"Ryan got the idea from somewhere!"

"He's just kidding. Tell her you're just kidding..."

Ryan was still smiling. He had gotten Seth back pretty good. "Yeah. Just kidding."

Everyone went back to eating their brunch. After a couple of minutes, Anna had finished. "Well, guys. The slopes are calling my name..."

The others responded, "Yeah." "Sure." "Have fun."

Anna smiled at all of them and headed off. At the restaurant doorway, she stopped and looked back at the rest of the gang. She hoped that they didn't think that she was trying to avoid them, especially Ryan and Luke since she left so quickly after they got there. Well, she was kind of trying to avoid Seth and Summer, but she didn't want them to know that.

As the only real skier in the group, she was going to go off skiing by herself on the expert slopes. She really enjoyed skiing by herself. She would put on her headphones and listen to her favorite bands like Death Cab. It was very meditative, a Zen-like experience, especially when she was in the zone -- everything was going well and she wasn't making any mistakes. Anna smiled to herself and went to get changed into her ski clothes.

Ryan watched Anna leave. He was kind of surprised that she had waited this long to go off skiing. Last night, she was the one arguing for them to get up and start their activities earlier. He half expected her to skip having brunch with the rest of them altogether and just go directly out skiing.

Ryan's attention was turned back to the table when he heard Luke say to Seth, Summer, and Marissa. "Have you guys decided what you're doing today?"

"Cohen and I are going to take skiing lessons."

"What? Summer? I never agreed to that. I'm like totally uncoordinated. Ryan's the athlete of the family..."

Summer smiled at Seth, like she was indulging a child. She reached over, put her hand on Seth's face, then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.

"Um, yeah, ok... Whatever you want, Summer."

The rest of the group worked hard to suppress their laughter.

Summer said, "You have had skiing lessons before, though, right? I mean, hasn't everyone?"

Seth replied, "Um, yeah. A couple of times when I was a kid."

Seth couldn't believe how insensitive Summer was being. Of course not everyone has had skiing lessons. He looked at Summer and tilted his head towards Ryan. Summer looked over there and saw Ryan staring down at his plate, uncomfortable. Summer realized what she just did. She looked back at Seth and mouthed _sorry_. Seth shrugged. There was nothing she could do about it now.

Ryan stared down at his plate and concentrated on eating. He could tell that everyone was now looking at him. He felt out of place, again. Like he did at Oliver's penthouse when everyone was talking about going to Paris. Ryan assumed that back then, Oliver did it intentionally, leading the conversation towards things that the rich kids had in common that left Ryan out. Right now, he knew that Summer didn't mean to make him feel left out on purpose. She just didn't think sometimes. But that didn't make him feel any less like he didn't belong here, with them.

Seth tried to ease the tension. "So, Ryan, are you really going snowboarding with Luke?"

Ryan looked up at Seth. He shrugged. "Yeah. I guess."

Luke grinned and hit Ryan on the arm, but not very hard. "Get excited. I told you, this is going to be fun."

Ryan gave Luke a half smile.

Last night, Ryan agreed to let Luke teach him how to snowboard, but now he was having second thoughts. In the quick look he had at the mountain last night when they arrived, and then this morning out the window, it looked really high. And he didn't even want to think about the chairlift. Although apparently there was a rope pull part way up the mountain, so he could avoid the chairlift. But Ryan wasn't sure if that was going to be good enough.

Maybe he could have gone through with it last year, but ever since he and Marissa got stuck at the top of the ferris wheel, his fear of heights was worse. He found out later from Seth that Anna arranged for them to stop up there to help him and Marissa work out their differences. It worked, but at the cost of his worsening acrophobia. He didn't blame Anna, though. She didn't know about his phobia.

Ryan looked around and saw that everyone was still looking at him. He wanted to divert their attention elsewhere. So he said, "Marissa? What about you?"

Marissa shrugged. "I don't know."

Marissa played tennis, but she'd never really gotten into winter sports. Of course, she'd been to ski resorts before, and had taken a few skiing lessons, like Summer said, but she wasn't nearly good enough to go skiing with Anna. And she wasn't about to try snowboarding with Luke and Ryan, and she didn't really want to find something to do by herself. I mean, the point of the weekend was to be with her friends, right? She took a quick look at Summer.

Summer could always tell what Marissa was thinking. "Coop, why don't you come with us? Take skiing lessons with Cohen and me?"

Seth glared at Summer. He had wanted to spend time with her alone. Summer gave Seth one of her looks, which were almost as effective as Ryan's. Seth gave in, saying to Marissa, "Yeah. You'll spend the day with us."

Marissa smiled. "OK. Thanks. That would be great."

* * *

To Be Continued 


	3. Mistaken Identity

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 3 - Mistaken Identity **

Ryan and Luke were still eating when Summer, Seth, and Marissa finished their brunch. Ryan told them, "Why don't you guys go ahead? You don't have to wait for us."

The three of them looked at each other and came to silent agreement. Seth said, "OK. Have fun snowboarding."

"See you guys at dinner."

They got up and headed off to arrange for some skiing lessons. After they left, Ryan turned to Luke. "Uh, Luke -- I don't know if I can go snowboarding."

"Ryan, what are you talking about? Of course you can. You're an athlete, unlike Cohen..."

"That's not what I meant." Luke gave Ryan a questioning look. Ryan continued, "I don't do... heights."

"You don't do heights? What does that mean? You're afraid of heights?" Ryan confirmed it with a little nod. Luke was confused. "Oh. OK... Why'd you even come, then?"

Ryan shrugged. He had been wondering that himself. Well, I mean, of course he came to be with his friends, and to get away from home for a few days, and because he'd never seen snow before. Even if the snow here was made by a machine, at least it was snow. But he really had no intention of skiing or snowboarding. Last night he thought he could give snowboarding a try, but after thinking about it overnight, he chickened out.

"Listen, man, not everyone knows about my acrophobia..."

Luke quickly interrupted, "I can keep a secret as well as you can."

Ryan and Luke shared a little smile, remembering how Ryan had kept Luke's secret about his father.

"Thanks. Look, I'd like to let everyone else think that I did go snowboarding with you. If Seth knows I didn't, I'll never hear the end of it."

Luke nodded. Knowing Cohen, he could understand that. "Sure. But what are you going to do today?"

"I don't know yet. I'll find something."

Luke was done with his brunch. He stood up. "Well, if you're sure..."

"Yeah. Go ahead. I'll see you tonight."

"OK." Luke headed off to go snowboarding by himself.

* * *

After Ryan finished his brunch, he went wandering around the ski resort lodge, checking everything out. There were an amazing number of things to do here that didn't involve actual skiing. They had a heated pool with a hot tub and a steam room. They had a spa where you could get a massage after a hard day on the slopes. There was an exercise room. There were areas where you could just relax in front of a fireplace, have a hot drink, and watch the people skiing outside through large windows.

Nothing really interested Ryan except for maybe the exercise room. He went in and looked around. They had a lot of nice equipment. He decided against it, partially because of the looks he kept getting, in there and everywhere he went. All of the other hotel guests were dressed in expensive-looking ski clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. Ryan had his usual clothes on, including his boots and wrist cuff. If he didn't feel out of place here before, he did now.

At this point, Ryan felt the need to be around people like himself. He went outside the lodge and wandered around towards the back, outside the kitchen of the restaurant where he had eaten his brunch. He could smell the food cooking in the kitchen for lunch. He could hear the people inside. It was familiar, comfortable, because he worked at a restaurant before, and because these were working-class people, like himself.

When Ryan got near the open back door of the kitchen, he could see a couple of men outside, smoking and talking. He had a sudden craving for a cigarette. Maybe it was the environment, who knew. He hadn't had a cigarette since Kirsten and Sandy asked him to quit when he moved in with them. Ryan approached the two men, hoping to bum a cigarette.

"Um, excuse me?"

The one man who had his back to Ryan as he approached, now turned around. He wasn't what Ryan was expecting. He was older, wore a suit, looked like he was in charge, of something. Ryan looked and spotted a nametag on his suit which said that he was the restaurant manager. Oops.

"You're late."

"Excuse me?"

The manager put out his cigarette and took Ryan by the arm, leading him in through the kitchen door.

"You're Williamson's friend, right? Didn't he tell you that the shift started at 9 O'Clock? You're lucky that we're so understaffed."

This guy talked as fast as Seth did. Ryan didn't get a chance to tell him that he wasn't who he thought he was.

"Since there's only 6 hours left on the shift, you're only getting paid for 6 hours. Did Williamson tell you that this is under the table? So you'll get paid, in cash, at the end of the shift. Have you done this kind of work before?"

The guy finally took a breath. Here was Ryan's chance to tell him that this was a case of mistaken identity. To his own surprise, Ryan found himself answering the manager's question instead.

"Uh, yeah. I worked at a small restaurant last summer, waiting tables, we also bussed the tables, worked the register, ..."

"Well, this is just a busboy job. I'm sure you can handle it. What's your name?"

"Ryan Atwood."

"How old are you, Atwood?"

"Seventeen."

Ryan didn't know why he said that, except that maybe it sounded better to be 17 than 16. He was still a couple of months away from his 17th birthday. He knew he could pass for older, but he figured it was too risky to claim that he was over 18 when he wasn't.

The manager nodded, then turned and gestured to a busboy, who came over. "Ortiz, this is Atwood. He's taking Williamson's shift. Get him set up, OK?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Francona."

Ryan was relieved to hear that he was taking this Williamson guy's shift, that is, that Williamson, whom Ryan was supposed to know, wasn't actually here.

Ryan followed Ortiz into a locker room which was next to the kitchen. Ortiz went to get Ryan the busboy uniform: a white t-shirt which had the name of the resort on it, plus a white apron, like the kind Ryan used to wear at the Crab Shack.

Ortiz handed them to Ryan. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

Ryan took off his outer shirt and his black t-shirt and put on the white shirt. He also took off his watch. He put them all into a locker. Ryan tied the apron around his waist. As Ortiz took him out and showed him around, Ryan had a chance to think about what just happened.

He really didn't know why he didn't speak up and get himself out of this. But now that he was here... He could use the money. He could always use more spending money. Also, he didn't really have anything to do for the next 6 hours, so he might as well do this than go back to the room and watch TV or something. It might be fun, you know, hanging around with people like himself. He already liked this Ortiz guy, who looked to be about Ryan's own age.

Ryan figured he wouldn't get caught doing this because the rest of the gang were off skiing or snowboarding and probably wouldn't be back until after Ryan's shift was over at 5 O'Clock. And since Luke's father was at brunch, he figured he wouldn't be back at the restaurant until dinner, after 5, so that should be OK too.

So Ryan went to work as a busboy at a ski resort that he was a guest at...

* * *

To Be Continued 


	4. End of Shift

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 4 - End of Shift **

Luke quit his snowboarding and headed back to the lodge a little early. It was a little boring, snowboarding by himself. Plus he wondered what Ryan might have found to do all afternoon. He was probably bored, too. Luke was sure that he and Ryan could find something interesting to do, together, until they were supposed to meet up with everyone for dinner.

Luke arrived back at the lodge and went up to the room he was sharing with Ryan. Ryan wasn't there, which wasn't a surprise. So Luke went out and searched around the lodge. He couldn't find him anywhere. Maybe Ryan went out to do something that didn't involve heights, like cross-country skiing or something. Luke was just about to go to the concierge and ask to have Ryan paged, just in case he was in the lodge somewhere.

Before he did that, Luke checked a few final places, which he didn't expect Ryan to be at, including the restaurant. Luke walked just inside the doorway of the restaurant and looked around. At first he didn't pay any attention to the waiters or busboys, but then he spotted Ryan bussing a table. Luke had to look twice to make sure it wasn't just someone that looked like Ryan. No, it was definitely him. Luke went over to him.

When Luke got near Ryan, he said, quietly, "Ryan."

Ryan turned around. He said, also quietly, "Luke. What are you doing here?"

"Me? What the hell are you doing? You're a busboy now?"

They were interrupted by the manager. "Atwood, get back to work. No fraternizing with the guests."

Ryan said to the manager, "Yes, sir."

He turned back to Luke. "I've got to get back to work. Look, I get off at 5. I'll meet you in the room and explain everything. OK?"

Without waiting for Luke to answer, Ryan quickly finished with the table, and walked away. _Damn_ Ryan thought as he reached the kitchen. He took a quick look back before the door closed and saw Luke still standing there, looking a little dumbfounded.

Ryan looked around the kitchen as he continued to do his work. He'd actually had a pretty good time for the last five hours, even with the hard work. He got along great with the other busboys and busgirls. They reminded him of his friends back home, in Chino. Ryan had even gotten invited to a party tonight, which he was seriously thinking of going to.

Now Ryan was going to have to deal with Luke -- come up with the explanation that he promised him. Ryan had really been hoping that no one would find out about what he was doing. Well, he knew that Luke could keep a secret, so maybe he'll keep this one.

* * *

When Ryan finished his shift at 5 O'Clock, he was dead tired. He had forgotten what it was like to be on his feet, working, for hours on end. And this wasn't even a full shift. He gratefully took the money that the manager gave him, went and changed back into his own clothes, and headed up to his room. When Ryan got there, Luke was already there watching TV and waiting for him.

"Hey, man --"

"Ugh, Luke, I need a shower first." And he needed time to think about what to tell Luke.

Ryan picked out some clean clothes to change into and headed into the bathroom. The water felt really good on his muscles that weren't used to working like this, not recently anyway. When Ryan finished his shower, he went and flopped down on his bed and joined Luke in watching TV. He wasn't planning on moving for a while. But he didn't have to wait long before Luke wanted answers.

"So, why were you working as a busboy? Isn't that a little weird? I mean, you're a guest here. Aren't the Cohens paying for it?"

Ryan laughed a little at that. "Yes, of course they are." Ryan sighed. "I don't know. I was looking for something to do, and the restaurant manager thought I was there to work, and I guess I thought why not..."

Ryan shrugged and looked back at the TV. He didn't know what else to say. He couldn't really explain why he did it, not to Luke, anyway. He figured that someone like Luke wouldn't understand that he was more comfortable working at a ski resort than being a guest at one.

Luke looked at Ryan. He didn't get it. Why would someone choose to work when they didn't have to and they could be out having fun instead? But Luke knew Ryan well enough by now to see that Ryan was done talking, so that explanation would have to do.

* * *

Ryan and Luke were still vegging out in front of the TV when there was a knock on their door. Luke looked over at Ryan. He wasn't making any move to get up and answer the door, so Luke had to do it. It was Seth.

"Hey, Cohen."

"Hey."

Seth came in and saw Ryan lying on his bed. Seth walked over to him. On the way, he looked to see what they were watching on TV. It was basketball, not something that interested Seth, but he'd seen Ryan watching it before. Seth stopped at the foot of Ryan's bed. 

Seth looked between Ryan and Luke, who had followed him back into the room. "So, are you guys ready for dinner?"

Ryan turned his head and looked at the clock. He hadn't realized it was so late. He had been thinking about begging off from dinner with the gang, so that he wouldn't have to go down to the restaurant, in case someone recognized him there. But since Seth was here, Ryan guessed it was too late to pretend to be sick or something. He'd just have to go down there and try to keep from getting himself noticed.

Ryan sat up on the side of the bed. "Yeah. Just give us a few minutes. We'll meet you down there."

"Sure."

Seth paused for a moment. Ryan was acting a little strangely. But then again, Ryan did that sometimes. So Seth went ahead out of the room and met up with Summer, who was waiting in the hallway. They headed downstairs to the restaurant.

After Seth left, Luke turned to Ryan. "What are you going to do? What if someone recognizes you at the restaurant? I assume you didn't tell them that you're a guest..."

Ryan sighed. "There was a shift change when I left, so probably most of the waiters and busboys are new. And even if one of them recognizes me, they'll probably just look at me funny and not say anything. The person I'm worried about is the restaurant manager. I'm not sure what he'd say if he saw me. I'll just have to hope my luck holds out and he doesn't see me."

Luke said, uncertainly, "OK..."

Ryan just shrugged and went ahead and got up and started getting ready for dinner.

* * *

To Be Continued 


	5. Saturday Dinner

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 5 - Saturday Dinner **

Ryan made it down to the restaurant with Luke and sat down at the table with the rest of the gang for dinner. Ryan looked around and didn't see the manager, and none of the busboys and waiters that he saw looked familiar. When the waitress came to take their orders, she wasn't one that Ryan knew from earlier, either. So far so good.

But then Ryan's luck changed when he and Luke went up to the salad bar. They had only been there for a few seconds when Ryan saw the restaurant manager headed his way.

Ryan said quietly to himself, "Uh Oh."

Luke heard Ryan and turned towards him in time to see the manager reach him.

The manager pulled Ryan to the side and said quietly, "Atwood, what are you doing? That's for guests."

Ryan just stood there for a second, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to admit to this guy that he was a guest. Like Luke said, that would be just weird that he was a guest and an employee at the same time.

Luke could see that Ryan was at a loss for words, so he decided to speak up. Luke stepped forward, next to Ryan, and told the manager, "He's with me."

Immediately after Luke spoke, his father appeared at his elbow. Carson had seen Luke and Ryan go up to the salad bar and was coming over anyway to see how everything was going. He hurried up when he saw them talking to the restaurant manager.

Carson looked at Ryan then Luke then the manager. "Ryan. Luke. Is everything all right?"

Luke looked at his father. "Yeah, Dad, everything's fine." Then he looked over at the manager, daring him to contradict him.

The restaurant manager recognized Mr. Ward as one of the resort's best customers. He came up on a regular basis and spent a lot of money. And he was always discreet about the 'friends' that he brought up with him. If this kid was his son, and Atwood was his friend...

The manager gave Mr. Ward a smile. "Yes, everything's fine, Mr. Ward. I hope you and your son enjoy your stay. Excuse me."

After the manager left, Carson turned to Luke. "What was that all about?"

Ryan and Luke looked at each other. Ryan spoke up, so Luke didn't have to lie to his father himself. "Nothing, Mr. Ward. He was just asking us how everything was."

"Yeah, Dad, it was nothing."

Carson looked from Luke to Ryan and back. There was something going on that they weren't saying. But whatever it was, it was over now, so Carson decided to drop it.

"How's everything going otherwise? What did you do today? Are you guys enjoying yourselves?"

Luke looked quickly at Ryan before turning to his father to answer him. "We went snowboarding. Yeah, it was fun."

"OK. Good. Well, you know I'm here if you need me, right?"

"Yeah, Dad, I know."

"So... I'll see you guys later." Carson went back to his table, with one last look back at Luke and Ryan.

Luke and Ryan looked at each other briefly before turning their attention back to the salad bar. One bullet dodged. Or was it two?

* * *

When Ryan and Luke got back to their table, they could tell that Seth, Summer, Anna, and Marissa had seen what happened at the salad bar. They were all looking at Ryan and Luke expectantly. It was Seth who spoke up.

"Hey, guys. So spill -- what was all the excitement at the salad bar? I mean, you got some guy in a suit and Luke's Dad and it looked like you guys had some kind of pow-wow. So what was it? A cockroach in the salad? What?"

Ryan replied, "The guy in the suit was the restaurant manager..."

"Yeah, and? ... We need more than that. We're dying here." Seth gestured to indicate that he was talking about himself and the three girls.

Ryan and Luke looked at each other. Luke decided to use the same story that they told his father. "The manager just came over to ask us how everything was, and my Dad just wanted to check in with us. They just happened to arrive at the same time. No big deal."

Seth didn't quite buy that. "OK..."

Seth looked at Ryan and Luke. Again, he was getting the vibe that there was something going on here. Well, Seth figured he'd grill Ryan about it later, at home. So he changed the subject.

"So, Ryan, how was snowboarding? Was it fun?"

"Um, yeah, I had a pretty good time today. It was tiring. Met some guys. Got invited to a party tonight." All of which was true. It wasn't Ryan's fault if they thought that he was snowboarding when all this happened...

Seth got excited. "Hey, I want to go to a party. Can I come? I mean, can we all come?"

Summer wasn't about to allow that. "Cohen, we're going on a sleigh ride tonight, remember?" She took his arm. "It is going to be _so_ romantic. 'One-horse open sleigh' and all that."

Summer loved horses. She remembered fondly her days at horseback riding camp when she was younger. She used to go every year. Seth, on the other hand, had never been near a real horse. The closest he'd come was Captain Oats.

"I don't know, Summer. Horses?"

Summer leaned up against Seth. "You'll be fine, Cohen. They won't hurt you."

There was a little awkward silence at the table as Seth and Summer were snuggling and everyone else was trying to not stare at them.

Anna decided to get the conversation moving again. She cleared her throat, and started, "So, how was everybody else's day? I had a great time. The trails they have here are unbelievable. And I was really in the zone today."

Since Seth and Summer were otherwise occupied, it was up to Marissa to speak for the three of them about their skiing lessons.

"Um. Yeah. Good. Our day was good. I mean, I have more experience skiing than Seth or Summer so I was in a different group. And well, Seth had a little trouble, so I think he, um... "

Seth interrupted. "I didn't give up. I was just... I'd rather watch Summer, that's all. I can never get enough of watching Summer."

Summer beamed at Seth, and they went back to making out.

Marissa didn't really like that she ended up pretty much by herself after all, so she suggested, "Hey, you guys. I was thinking that tomorrow it would be fun for us to do something as a group, you know? Find something that we can all enjoy together?"

Anna spoke up. "I was hoping to get in some more skiing tomorrow."

"OK. How about you ski for half a day in the morning, then you can join us in the afternoon? We can leave a message for you at the front desk about where we've gone. How's that sound?"

Anna smiled. She could do that. "Yeah. Sounds good, Marissa."

* * *

To Be Continued 


	6. After Dinner

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 6 - After Dinner **

After dinner, the six of them went over to one of those areas in front of a fireplace that Ryan had noticed earlier in the day. They all settled in on couches and got hot drinks. Most of them got coffee, but there was also tea and hot chocolate. They had a nice view of some night skiing through a big window. Seth and Summer were going to be heading off to their sleigh ride soon. The others were trying to decide what to do this evening.

While they were discussing it, Seth's cell phone rang. He disentangled himself from Summer and got the phone out of his pocket. As expected, the caller id showed that it was his father. He let out an exaspirated sigh. No one else's Dad called them to make sure they were OK. You would think he'd relax since Luke's Dad was here, but no...

Seth answered the phone. "Hey, Dad.... Yes, everything's fine... We just finished dinner..." Seth looked over at Ryan. "Yeah, he's right here..."

Seth got up and indicated to Ryan to follow him. Ryan got up too, and the two of them headed over to an empty corner of the room. On the way, Seth handed Ryan his phone.

"Hey, Sandy..." Ryan rolled his eyes.

* * *

Anna noticed Marissa watching Seth and Ryan talking to Sandy on the phone. At least, she assumed that was what Marissa was looking at. They were behind the couch that Anna was sitting on. Anna got up and moved over to sit next to Marissa. She started to watch them too.

Anna and Marissa looked at each other and exchanged a small laugh.

Anna asked, "You're still into Ryan?"

"Yeah. You're still into Seth?"

"Yeah."

Marissa and Anna both sighed and continued to watch the boys that they wanted to be with, who didn't want to be with them. Anna kind of envied Marissa, because at least Ryan wasn't with someone else. Not yet, anyway. Marissa kind of envied Anna, because at least she and Seth could be friends, because they had so much in common. She and Ryan were trying to be friends, but it wasn't really working out. Marissa and Anna both sighed again.

Marissa soon got fed up with the brooding that she and Anna were doing. "Hey, how about we head over to the spa? We can get a manicure, or a massage..."

Anna wasn't usually into that sort of thing, spas and stuff, but she was a little sore from skiing for the first time in a while and a massage sounded really good. "Sounds good. Let's go."

So Marissa and Anna took their leave of their friends and headed off to the spa, together.

* * *

After Seth and Ryan got off the phone with Sandy, Seth and Summer went off to have their sleigh ride. This left Ryan and Luke.

Luke laughed. "I guess it's just us, again."

"Where'd Marissa and Anna go?"

"To the spa."

"Ah."

"So... You said something about a party?"

"Yeah." Ryan checked his watch. "Ramirez -- he's one of the busboys -- he's going to be off soon. We can catch up with him around the back of the kitchen. He can give us a ride."

"A ride? Why do we need a ride? Why don't we just take my Dad's car? Then we can get back whenever we want."

Ryan couldn't believe that Luke just suggested that. Ryan didn't want a repeat of what happened to the Cohens' Range Rover in Long Beach.

"Luke, do you really want to take a brand new Lexus into that kind of neighborhood? Trust me, you don't."

Luke was taken aback. "Yeah. OK."

Luke realized that he really had no idea what kind of neighborhood they were going to. It never occurred to him that something might happen to their car.

Ryan, meanwhile, was concerned about going to a party and staying out late, or maybe even all night, with Luke's father at the hotel, chaperoning them.

"I don't know, maybe we shouldn't leave the resort. What about your father?"

"My father doesn't care."

Ryan said, in a hard voice, "Your father cares."

Luke took a long look at Ryan. He thought he heard a hint of anger in his voice that Luke would say that his father didn't care. Luke thought about it for a second. He remembered what Ryan told him about his own father to help him feel better after finding out that his father was gay. Ryan said that his father never went to his games. He didn't even know or care what sport Ryan played. Luke looked down. Now he felt bad. He had no right to complain about his father, compared to Ryan. Luke knew that his father cared about him.

Luke looked back at Ryan and said, apologetically, "Yes. You're right. My father would care if he knew. But right now he's so busy with his new... friend... that he's not paying attention to us, so we don't have to worry about him. So let's go to this party, what do you say?"

Ryan did want to go, hang out with his new friends. "Yeah. Let's. But we should let someone know we're going, just in case."

"We could call Cohen..."

"He's with Summer."

"Right."

Ryan didn't want to bother Marissa or Anna at the spa, but there didn't seem to be any better alternative. "I guess we're going over to the spa, then."

"I guess."

So Ryan and Luke headed over to the spa. When they got there, Ryan stepped forward to talk to the lady behind the counter.

"Hi, we're looking for Marissa Cooper or Anna Stern."

The lady consulted her books. "Yes, they are both here. They should be done in --"

Ryan interrupted her, "We just need to talk to one of them for a minute."

"We could give them a message..."

Ryan exchanged a glance with Luke. "Actually, we'd rather talk to one of them, in person, please."

"I'll see if one of them is available. Please wait here."

So Ryan and Luke stepped to the side and waited. In a minute or so, Anna came out.

"Hi, guys, what's up?"

Ryan pulled her over to the side, so they could talk without being overheard.

"Luke and I are going to that party I mentioned at dinner. We just thought someone should know where we are, just in case. I'm not sure exactly where the party is, but Luke has his cell phone. Do you have his number?"

Luke spoke up. "Marissa has it."

"Right, of course."

Anna smiled at them. "OK. Have fun, guys."

Ryan and Luke nodded to Anna and went off to get their coats and head out to the party.

* * *

To Be Continued 


	7. House Party

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 7 - House Party **

Ryan led Luke around the outside of the resort lodge to the back of the restaurant's kitchen. According to Ryan's watch, there was still 5 minutes before Ramirez's shift was over, so they waited. While Ryan and Luke were sitting outside, one of the waiters that Ryan knew came out. Ryan stood up.

"Oh, hi, Atwood. I thought you left."

"I did. We're waiting for Ramirez. I believe his shift is about over."

"Ah, OK. I'll let him know you're here."

"Thanks."

After the waiter went back inside, Ryan sat back down to wait again. After about 5 minutes, Ramirez came out. He was a latino teenager, about Ryan's height.

"Hey, Chino, you waiting for me?"

Luke looked at Ryan. He thought that Ryan hated to be called 'Chino'. But this time Ryan didn't look disturbed by it.

"Hey, Ramirez. Yeah. Ortiz invited me to the party tonight. I was hoping you could give us a ride."

"Us?"

"Yeah, do you think it would be OK if my friend comes?"

Ramirez looked at Luke skeptically. "Isn't he a guest? One of these spoiled rich kids --"

Ryan interrupted, "He's cool. It's not his fault his Dad's rich."

Luke looked at Ryan. He was amused by this whole exchange. He couldn't believe that he was being discriminated against because he was rich. Luke was used to it being the other way around.

Ramirez considered. "I guess it would be OK." He turned to Luke. "Where are you from?"

Luke looked at Ryan. Ryan gave him a slight nod. Luke turned back to Ramirez. "Newport Beach."

Ramirez started to walk away. "Well, come on if you want a ride. Chino. Newport."

That was the first time Luke had been called 'Newport'. He had to admit, it was kind of annoying. Luke hurried to follow Ryan who was following Ramirez to his car.

* * *

When they got to the house party in the working-class neighborhood, Ryan fit right in. Luke, on the other hand, stood out like a sore thumb. He'd never been to any neighborhoods like this. He could see now why Ryan didn't want to bring his father's Lexus down here.

As they entered the party, they both got looks. As far as Luke could tell, the ones for Ryan were because he was good looking (from the girls) or sizing him up as one of their own (from the guys). The ones for Luke, though, made him feel like everyone was looking down at him. It was a weird feeling.

Right after they got there, Ryan pulled Luke aside.

"Look, man, I know you can take care of yourself, but try not to insult anybody. You remember Donny?"

Luke gave Ryan a look. Of course Luke remembered Donny. Donny shot him.

Ryan continued, "Right, well, any one of these guys could be like him, and you may not get so lucky the next time."

Luke had only been shot in the arm. It could have been worse. "Right. I'll lay low."

"Good idea."

Their talk was interrupted by Ortiz, another latino teenager, taller than the last, and darker. "Hey, Chino. You made it. Who's your friend?"

"This is umm.. I guess we're going to call him Newport. He's a guest at the resort, but don't hold that against him. He's cool."

Ortiz nodded at Luke. "Hey."

Luke nodded back. "Hey."

Ortiz turned back to Ryan. "Hey, Chino, do you know that girl over there?"

Ortiz pointed out a girl who looked to be older, maybe 20 or 21, white, short dark hair. She didn't look familiar to Ryan.

"No, should I?"

"She says she's from Chino, too."

Ryan was interested. He took a closer look at her. "Really?"

Ortiz laughed. "Come on, I'll show you where the beer is."

Ryan and Luke followed Ortiz over to the beer. Then Ortiz went off with other friends. Luke got himself a beer and started sipping it. Ryan got two beers. He started sipping one. He stood by the beer looking at the girl from Chino.

Luke pushed Ryan, playfully. "Go ahead, dude. What are you waiting for? You're single now..."

Ryan gave Luke a half smile and headed over to the girl. Luke watched as they talked and Ryan handed her the second beer. Then Luke went looking for a girl of his own.

A little while later, Ryan went looking for Luke. He found him, half drunk, laughing with a bunch of guys. He guessed Luke was laying low just fine. He got Luke's attention. Luke came over.

"Hey, Chino, what's up?"

Ryan nodded over at the girl from Chino, who was waiting for him. "I'm going to her place for a little while. You'll be OK here?"

"Whoa, nice going, man. Go ahead. I can take care of myself, remember?"

"Yeah, I can see that. OK. I'll be back."

So Ryan went over to the girl's apartment. Her name was Kim. She was 19. And Ryan had a really good time with her. He didn't know her from Chino, and she didn't even know Trey, even though they were the same age. But, still, it was really nice to be with somebody from home. They had a lot in common, unlike him and Marissa.

A couple of hours later, Ryan left Kim's and headed back to Ortiz's party. He found Luke even more drunk now, and dancing with a girl. Ryan got himself another beer and watched them dancing. It looked to Ryan like the girl was interested in getting together with Luke, so he was surprised when it looked like Luke turned her down and headed back over to the beer.

When Luke got to the beer, he saw Ryan there. "Hey, man, you're back."

"Yeah. Hey, looks like that girl's into you. Why'd you turn her down? You're single now, too..."

"No, I'm not."

Ryan was surprised. "You're not?"

Luke, even almost drunk, realized that he almost spilled the beans about him and Julie Cooper. "Um.. Yeah, but it's a secret. So don't tell anybody."

"Sure, man." Not that there was anything to tell. Luke didn't tell him who he was going out with.

Ryan spotted Ortiz and headed over to him. He'd been looking for him. "Ortiz."

Ortiz smiled. "Chino. You're back. Did you have a good time with Chino girl?"

Ryan smiled back. "Yeah. Hey, listen, Newport and I got a ride here from Ramirez. Do you know if there's anyone we can get a ride back to the resort with?"

"Yeah, sure, but not until morning. I know a guy that has the morning shift. He can give you a lift at about 6 AM."

"OK. Great. Can we crash here?"

"Sure, of course." Ortiz looked over at Luke. Ryan followed his gaze. Luke was totally drunk. "I don't think your rich friend is going anywhere, anyway."

* * *

To Be Continued 


	8. Waking Up, Or Not

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

Author's Notes: Thanks again for the reviews. Here's a trivia question for my readers. What do all of my original characters' names have in common? They are: Keith, Scott Williamson, Ortiz, Francona, Ramirez, Kim, and Nixon. The answer will be included in the final chapter.

* * *

** Chapter 8 - Waking Up (Or Not) **

"Hey, Newport --"

Ryan interrupted Ortiz. "He's not going to respond to that." Ryan turned to Luke. "Luke! LUKE!"

Luke groaned and turned over on the couch at Ortiz's place.

Ryan grabbed Luke's shoulder and pulled him back over on his back. "Come on, man, you gotta get up now or we'll miss our ride back to the resort."

Luke finally opened his eyes and looked at Ryan. He was still half asleep. "What time is it?"

"It's almost 6. Come on, get up."

"6? Like 6 in the morning?"

"Yeah. We gotta get back before your Dad misses... uh... you."

Luke was finally awake, mostly. He struggled to sit up on the couch, then reached over and pulled his shoes on. Ryan handed him his coat. Luke stood up and pulled it on. Ryan grabbed Luke and pushed him out the door and across the street to Ortiz's friend's house. He had the morning shift at the ski resort. He was waiting for them.

"Hey! Hurry up! I'm gonna be late!"

Ryan told him. "Sorry. My friend here is still a little drunk."

Ryan pushed Luke into the back seat of the car and climbed in after him. As the car pulled away, Ryan called back to Ortiz, "Thanks! Good party!"

When they got back to their room at the resort, both Luke and Ryan climbed into their beds and fell right to sleep.

A few hours later, the alarm clock went off. Ryan reached out and turned it off. It was time to get up for brunch with the group. Ryan got up and looked at Luke. The alarm hadn't woken him at all.

"Luke. Hey, man. Time to get up. Time for brunch."

Luke didn't even stir. Ryan looked and he was still breathing. That's good, anyway. Ryan shrugged to himself. Maybe it would be a good idea to let Luke sleep for a little while longer. He could miss brunch. Ryan went ahead and took his shower and got dressed and headed down to the restaurant.

When Ryan got there, he checked to see if any of the group was there already. He didn't see any of them at any of the tables. Ryan checked his watch. It was just before 10 0'Clock. Looked like he was the first one down today. He didn't want to go ahead and get a table by himself. There was always the chance that he'd be seen by the restaurant manager, or other restaurant staff, and he thought it would be better in that case if he was with his friends instead of alone.

So Ryan stood to the side and waited. When it got to be a few minutes past 10, he considered calling up to Marissa's room or Seth and Summer's room. He wasn't expecting Anna because she probably was already out skiing. It would just be the four of them this morning, with Anna out and Luke out of it.

Just then, a busboy that Ryan didn't recognize came up to him. "Are you Atwood?"

Ryan said, uncertainly, "Yeah..."

"I'm Williamson."

Oops. This was the guy whose shift Ryan worked yesterday. Who everyone at the restaurant thought was his friend. Ryan pulled him to the side so they could talk privately.

"Look, man --"

Williamson interrupted, "I just wanted to thank you."

Ryan looked at him, surprised.

Williamson continued, "You totally bailed me out yesterday. My friend who said he'd take my shift flaked out on me and just didn't show. I thought I'd be in so much trouble when I got in today. I was surprised when they told me that my friend did show up. The other guys said that was you."

"Oh, ah, you're welcome. Glad I could help." Well, that explained a few things.

"By the way, I'm Scott." He put out his hand.

Ryan took Scott's hand and shook it. "Ryan."

Scott smiled. "So we're friends now, right?"

Ryan smiled back. "Yeah."

"So, you're from Chino?" Ryan nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story." A really long story. "Where are you from?" Scott looked like he was over 18, so Ryan figured that he was probably from somewhere else and had come here to work.

"Right here in Big Bear City. I still live with my folks."

Ryan and Scott's getting-to-know-you chat was interrupted by a woman in a suit who walked over to them.

"Williamson."

Scott turned to her. "Uh... Mrs. Nixon, this is my friend, Ryan Atwood."

She turned to Ryan. Ryan saw a nametag on her suit which said that she was the assistant manager. Good, that meant that the manager wouldn't be working today. Ryan was a little intimidated by that guy.

"Ah, Atwood. You're the one who worked Williamson's shift yesterday. Mr. Francona told me you did a good job."

"Oh... Uh... Thank you." Ryan was a little surprised that the manager had something good to say about him. He didn't seem to be the type to say anything good about anybody.

"Listen, we're understaffed again today, so if you're looking to make some more money..."

Ryan said quickly, "I'm sorry. I can't today."

Mrs. Nixon smiled at him. "Well, at least I tried."

Ryan smiled back. Mrs. Nixon nodded to Scott and walked away.

Scott turned to Ryan. "I should get back to work."

"Right. Nice to meet you."

After Scott left, Ryan turned around to find Seth right behind him with Summer right behind Seth. Ryan froze.

Seth started in, "What the hell's going on? We come in here, see you talking to a busboy and some woman in a suit and come over here to find her asking you to work today? You were working here yesterday? Weren't you snowboarding with Luke?"

Ryan sighed. He guesssed it was time to tell all.

* * *

To Be Continued 


	9. Secrets and Lies

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 9 - Secrets and Lies **

Seth, Summer, and Ryan went over to the brunch buffet to get their food. They were soon joined there by Marissa. Once they all had their food, they sat down at a table for four. Once they were settled in, Seth wanted answers.

"OK, Ryan, we have our food. We're sitting down. Happy? So tell us what happened yesterday. You didn't go snowboarding with Luke?"

Ryan was a little ashamed that the reason why he didn't go snowboarding was because of his fear of heights. It was so embarrassing. Everyone in Newport thought he was this tough guy, and here he was terrified to go on a chairlift.

"Um.. no, I couldn't."

Ryan gave Seth and Marissa looks, hoping that they'd understand why, without him having to say it. They both knew about his phobia. They both got it. They exchanged a look.

Seth and Marissa both said, "Oh."

Seth was a little embarrassed that he asked. He should have known that was the reason. He was a little surprised on Friday night when Ryan agreed to let Luke teach him to snowboard. Seth just thought that maybe Ryan's fear of heights had gotten better lately. The situation hadn't come up in a while.

Summer, meanwhile, was just confused. She looked around at Seth, Ryan, and Marissa. They obviously all knew something that she didn't.

Summer looked at Seth and said, "_Oh_ what? Cohen, what's going on? I don't get it. Why couldn't Ryan go snowboarding?"

Seth gave Ryan a quick look. Ryan gave his tacit approval to tell Summer. So Seth leaned in and whispered into Summer's ear. She gave Ryan a surprised look and also said, "Oh!"

They all went back to eating, embarrassed for the moment about the shared secret. Then Seth cleared his throat and continued with the interrogation.

"OK, so, then, what did you do yesterday instead? Something about working here?"

"Um... yeah... I know this is going to sound a little weird, but yeah. After I sent Luke off to go snowboarding by himself, I was looking for something to do. The restaurant manager mistook me for someone that was supposed to come and work as a busboy."

Ryan sent Seth an amused glance as he continued, "That guy talks as fast as you do, Seth. Maybe even faster. He could probably talk you into working as a busboy."

Seth gave Ryan a disbelieving look. "That's why you did it? Because the manager talked you into it?"

Ryan shrugged. "Kind of."

Ryan looked down, away from the others. He wasn't sure if he should try to explain it further. He wasn't sure if they'd understand it any more than Luke would. There was another period of silence while everyone went back to eating.

Marissa was finally catching up with what was going on. She didn't know what Seth was asking Ryan about when it started. Now that she got it, she remembered the encounter that Ryan had with the restaurant manager at the salad bar last night.

"Ryan, what was really going on with the manager at dinner yesterday? Did that have something to do with this?"

Ryan looked up at Marissa. "Yeah. He saw me at the salad bar and since obviously he thinks I'm a busboy, not a guest, he thought I shouldn't be there. He backed down after Luke and his Dad came over."

Marissa nodded. Seth went back to doing the questioning. "And the guys you said you met and the party you got invited to -- "

"Yeah. I meant that I met the other busboys, and one of them invited me to a party he was having at his house last night."

"And you and Luke went?"

"Right."

"So Luke knew all about this?"

Seth was beginning to get a little jealous of the new closeness between Ryan and Luke. Of course, he knew it was his own fault. His new relationship with Summer didn't leave much time for Ryan. Seth vowed to himself to make an effort to put more Seth-Ryan time on the books once they got back home.

"Obviously, Luke knew I didn't go snowboarding with him, and he covered for me with that. I didn't tell him about working here, if that's what you're getting at. He came back early and saw me."

Seth nodded. "So how was the party last night?"

"Good. We had a good time."

Summer spoke up. "So nothing happened?"

Ryan was confused. "Happened?"

"You know, like you get beaten up or something and have to go to the hospital, or you get busted for something and get hauled off to juvie..."

Ryan looked at Summer strangely. How did she come up with this stuff?

"No, nothing like that, obviously. We went to a house party. There were people. There was music. There was dancing. Luke managed to not insult anybody. He got drunk. We stayed overnight and got a ride back early this morning. That's all that happened."

Well, that plus his one night stand with the girl from Chino, Kim. Ryan had to stop himself from calling her Kimmie. He knew a Kimmie once. She was hot. Ryan stole a quick glance at Marissa. He knew he was keeping another secret, but he didn't want to mention his encounter with another girl in front of Marissa. Their breakup was still too new, and he knew that she was still hoping that they'd get back together.

Marissa asked, "So is that where Luke is? Hungover?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He wouldn't wake up this morning." Seeing Marissa look worried, Ryan continued, "But he should be OK in a few hours. Don't worry."

As far as Ryan was concerned, that pretty much covered everything, so he was hoping to steer the conversation away from himself.

"So what about you guys?" Ryan addressed Seth and Summer. "How was your sleigh ride?"

Summer smiled and snuggled up to Seth. "It was _so_ romantic, just like I knew it would be."

Seth told Ryan, "I told you, man, I had so much more to give."

Ryan was a little disgusted at the picture that formed in his mind. "OK, I don't think we need to hear any more. What about you, Marissa? How was your night at the spa with Anna?"

"It was great. We got massages and manicures. Very relaxing. And Anna and I talked. We didn't really know each other very well before, you know, like one on one."

Marissa looked quickly at Ryan then at Seth and Summer and then looked away. She didn't really want to go into what she and Anna talked about.

Ryan noticed the looks coming from Marissa and could guess what they talked about. Both girls had recently broken up. Seth realized it too. He knew it was hard for Anna to be around him and Summer.

The four of them went back to eating their brunch quietly, each thinking their own thoughts.

* * *

To Be Continued 


	10. Sunday Brunch, Continued

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 10 - Sunday Brunch, Continued **

As they all got close to finishing their brunch, Marissa spoke up.

"So, guys. I guess we should decide what we're all doing today. Remember, you agreed that we could do something together."

It was Marissa's idea for them to all hang out together today. She hoped that they weren't all going to back out and do separate things again. She didn't want to end up spending the afternoon by herself, again. So she took it upon herself to push it for them to find something for them all to agree on.

Summer answered, "Well, Cohen and I already did a sleigh ride, so I guess that's out."

Marissa suggested, "What about ice skating?"

Seth and Ryan both quickly said, "No."

Ryan suggested, "They have cross-country skiing..."

Seth shook his head. "Too much work."

Ryan continued, "... or snow-shoeing ..."

"Also too much work. What are you trying to do, kill me?" Ryan smiled. Seth continued, "What about snowmobiling?"

Summer and Marissa looked at each other and shook their heads.

Marissa suggested, "Why don't we go tubing?"

Ryan asked, "What's tubing?"

"Oh, um, snow tubing is basically sledding, on a large inner tube. It's really cool, and it's easy, anyone can do it. I mean, there's no skill or experience required. You sit or lie down on the tube and slide down the hill along these lanes. Don't worry, they have different height hills, we can go on the low one."

Marissa hoped that Ryan wasn't too embarrassed that she brought up his fear of heights, again, but she wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to say _no_.

Summer got caught up in Marissa's enthusiasm. "Yeah, Cohen, and we can tie our tubes together and go down as a couple!"

Marissa added, "And they have these cool tube tows to get you back up the hill. You just tie your tube to the tow and get pulled back up, sitting on the tube. We don't have to hike up the hill or anything."

Marissa looked around at everyone and continued, "So what do you guys say? It'll be fun!"

They all looked at each other and nodded and shrugged. Marissa took that as agreement. "Great!"

* * *

Carson Ward arrived at the restaurant for brunch and saw the kids sitting at a table. He went over there to check in, like he had been doing at every meal. When he got there, he saw that Luke wasn't with them. Carson nodded to all the kids, and they nodded back at him.

"Hi, guys. Where's Luke?"

Ryan and the others all looked at each other. Obviously, they didn't want to tell Luke's father that he was still in bed because he was hungover. After a moment, everyone ended up looking at Ryan, so it was up to him to tell Luke's Dad _something_.

"Um... he's... uh... sleeping in. Um... He didn't get much sleep last night, so he was tired..."

Carson was immediately suspicious. He knew his son too well. "Uh-huh. Sure. He was out drinking last night, wasn't he?" And then Carson muttered to himself, "Damn. I've talked to that kid about his drinking..."

Carson turned away from the table, towards the restaurant door. He looked determined. The kids guessed that he was headed up to Luke's room to confront him. They all quickly jumped up and Ryan moved in front of Carson. Carson stopped.

"Mr. Ward -- Why don't you let me go up there and see if he's awake?"

Carson considered this. It was probably not such a good idea to try and confront Luke while he was hungover. Letting Ryan go up there and get him out of bed might be a good idea. So Carson nodded at Ryan.

"OK, Ryan, I guess that would be a good idea. We can get a key to the room from the front desk."

Without thinking, Summer blurted out, "Ryan has a key."

Everyone looked at her. She realized that she just made a major mistake. The parents weren't supposed to know that Ryan was in the same room as Luke, or that she was in the same room as Seth.

Carson could see that Ryan having a key to Luke's room was significant. "Ryan, why do you have a key to Luke's room?"

"Um... I'm rooming with Luke."

"Why?"

"Uh... Seth and I had a fight." Ryan looked at Seth, hoping that he'd back him up, if necessary.

Carson was not stupid, or blind. It didn't look to him like Ryan and Seth were fighting. And he could see that Seth and Summer had been all over each other all weekend. They would want to share a room. Maybe Ryan moved out of Seth's room to stay with Luke so Summer could stay with Seth. Carson sighed. He should have figured this would happen. Well, he had only himself to blame. He was supposed to be watching the kids, and he wasn't.

Carson told them, "I see." The kids could tell that Carson did. Carson continued, "OK, well, I guess it is too late to do anything about it now, since we're all leaving this evening anyway. And don't worry, Seth, Summer, I won't tell your parents, although I should."

Ryan thought, cynically, _yeah, because then you'd have to admit you weren't really keeping an eye on us_.

Carson decided at this point to forget about trying to straighten anything out right now. "Ryan, forget about waking Luke up right now. When he does wake up, just tell him I'll deal with it when we get home, OK?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Ward."

After Luke's Dad left, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They sat back down and finished their brunch. On the way out of the restaurant, Marissa addressed everyone.

"So do we want to go right out tubing now, or... ?"

Seth answered, "Actually, Summer and I are thinking of going and soaking in the hot tub for a while."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, I think maybe we should wait a couple of hours. That will give Anna time to get back from skiing, and give Luke a little more time to sleep before I drag him out of bed."

Marissa looked at her watch. "OK. How about... hmmm... how about we meet up at about 1 0'Clock?"

They all agreed. "Sounds good."

* * *

To Be Continued 


	11. After Brunch

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

* * *

** Chapter 11 - After Brunch **

After Seth and Summer headed off to go hot tubbing, that left Ryan and Marissa alone together. They looked at each other, a little uncomfortable. Ever since they broke up, with the whole Oliver thing, they were not very comfortable being alone together. It was awkward. But they decided to give it another try.

Marissa suggested, "Why don't we get some coffee and sit down near the fireplace, where we were last night after dinner?"

Ryan smiled. "Sure."

So that's what they did. They sat and they made smalltalk about school, their families, whatever they could think of. They quickly ran out of comfortable topics.

Finally, Marissa got up the courage to ask, "So, how's Theresa?"

Marissa didn't really want to remind Ryan of his ex-girlfriend from home, but she did really want to know what Ryan and Theresa's status was now.

Ryan shrugged. "I haven't seen her since Valentine's Day. But I'll probably see her again soon. She said she was going to be coming out here on a regular basis for catering work." Ryan paused. He forgot where he was for a moment. "Of course, I don't mean she'd be coming _here_, as in Big Bear. You know what I meant -- coming to Newport."

Ryan and Marissa exchanged a bit of an embarrassed smile. But Marissa's question about Theresa made Ryan think. It was really nice to see her on Valentine's Day. Until he saw her, he hadn't realized how much he'd missed his friends from home, Theresa in particular. Maybe it was seeing her recently that made him homesick enough to want to hang out with the people who worked at the restaurant here, and then to go to the house party. That was something to think about.

After talking about Theresa, Ryan and Marissa sat in an uncomfortable silence briefly.

Ryan got an idea. "Hey, why don't we crash Seth and Summer's alone time in the hot tub. Can't let them spend the entire weekend alone together..."

"Sure." Marissa smiled. Maybe Ryan wanted to be in the hot tub with her. Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

Ryan and Marissa finished their coffees and headed upstairs to their rooms to get their swimsuits. Ryan thought Kirsten was crazy when she told him to bring his swimsuit to a ski resort, but now he was glad that he listened to her.

When Ryan got to the room, he found that Luke was still in bed, but wasn't totally out of it like before brunch.

"Hey."

"Hey. How are you doing?"

"Better. What time is it?"

"Late. We've already had brunch. So listen, your Dad was looking for you. He figured out that you were out drinking last night." Luke groaned. Ryan continued, "He told me to tell you that he'd deal with it after you guys got home."

Luke was relieved. At least he'd have the rest of the day to have fun, which reminded him, "So what are the plans for today?"

"We're all going to meet up at 1 O'Clock and then go tubing. That gives Anna time to get back from skiing, and gives you a little more time to wake up and get ready. Right now Marissa and I are going to join Seth and Summer in the hot tub."

"Ooh. You and Marissa in the hot tub. Are you guys getting back together?"

"No, we're not." Not yet, anyway. Maybe someday...

Ryan grabbed his swimsuit and went out to meet Marissa in the hallway and they headed down to the locker room next to the pool area to change. On the way, they stopped at the front desk to leave a message for Anna about where they all were and what the plans for the day were.

After changing into their suits in their respective locker rooms, Ryan and Marissa went out to the pool area, to the hot tub. They had to laugh as they approached and saw Seth and Summer all over each other. Seth and Summer heard the laughter and turned to see Ryan and Marissa. They quickly broke apart.

Seth said, "Hey. What are you guys doing here?"

As Ryan and Marissa climbed into the hot tub, Ryan replied, "Soaking in the hot tub sounded really good. So we thought we'd join you. Thanks for suggesting it."

Ryan and Marissa had to smile as Seth tried to give them the stare of death, and failed utterly.

* * *

After Anna finished her half-day of skiing, she headed back to the lodge. She stopped at the front desk to check for a message from the gang. She was pleased to read that they were waiting for her to go snow tubing. She couldn't believe how nice everyone was being towards her. Not that any of them had ever _not_ been nice to her, but she wasn't really an inner member of the group. She was really only close to Seth, and somewhat Summer after that whole triangle thing they were part of. 

It was thoughtful of Marissa yesterday to suggest that she ski only a half day and join the rest of them in the afternoon. It would be nice to spend some time with the rest of the group. Anna headed upstairs to her room to change out of her ski clothes, smiling to herself.

Luke finally dragged himself out of bed. He still wasn't feeling so good, but he thought that maybe if he took a shower, got dressed, and got something to eat, that he'd feel better. Besides, he didn't want to spend the entire day in bed. Ryan said they were all going to go out snow tubing. He always had fun tubing. He didn't want to miss it.

So Luke got up, took a shower, got dressed, and headed down to the restaurant to try and grab a light lunch before he had to meet up with the rest of the guys.

Seth, Summer, Ryan, and Marissa soaked in the hot tub, and splashed around in the pool, and generally just had some mindless fun until it was time to get out of the water and get ready to go tubing. They all went ahead and took showers in the locker rooms and got dressed back into their regular clothes.

At 1 O'Clock all six of them caught up with each other in the hallway outside of their rooms, and headed outside to have some fun in the snow.

* * *

To Be Continued 


	12. The End of the Trip

Title: Ryan's First Ski Trip

Summary: Ryan and the gang go to a ski resort for the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to _The O.C._.

Author's Notes: This is the last chapter of this story. A final thank you to all of the people who have reviewed. A thank you to my beta, Eileen. The answer to the trivia question from chapter 8 is at the bottom. This is your last chance to guess. Good Luck!

* * *

** Chapter 12 - The End of the Trip **

Marissa led her five friends out to the lowest hill that the ski resort had for snow tubing. They purchased their tickets and got their inner tubes.

Ryan stood at the bottom of the hill with his friends and looked up. It didn't look too bad. It wasn't any worse than the hills around Newport, for example the one behind the back of the Cohens' house which led down to the beach. Maybe he could do this.

Ryan followed the rest of the gang over to the tube tow, attached his tube to it and sat down for the lift up to the top. It _was_ pretty cool. At the top, Ryan looked down the hill. So far so good. It didn't trigger his fear of heights.

Luke went up behind Ryan and gave him a playful shove, saying, "Race you down the hill!"

Then Luke threw his tube down and flopped down on top of it and pushed himself off, down the hill.

Ryan was right behind him. "Oh, no, you don't!"

The two of them raced down the lane, bumping and racing each other, like little boys.

Summer and Seth, as expected, tied their tubes together and went down the slope hand in hand.

Marissa and Anna shared an amused glance at the antics of their friends. Then they went ahead and slid down the slope, in a more ladylike manner.

* * *

After an afternoon of fun on the tubing hill, the gang headed back to the lodge. They were going to have dinner and then head back home.

On the way in, Anna pulled Marissa aside. "Marissa, do you want to ride back to Newport with me? I came by myself."

Marissa smiled. "That would be great."

As a matter of fact, Marissa was thinking of asking Anna if she could ride with her. She didn't really want to spend the entire trip back with Seth and Summer arguing, and sitting in the back awkwardly with Ryan.

Anna and Marissa rejoined their friends. They all headed upstairs to their rooms to relax for a little while before dinner.

While they were in their room, Luke asked Ryan, "Hey, Ryan, could you ride back with me and my Dad? I really don't want to be alone with him."

Ryan smiled. "Sure."

Ryan knew that Luke was trying to put off getting yelled at by his father for his drinking. He didn't blame him.

* * *

After an hour or so, the gang all headed down to the restaurant for dinner. As they walked in, Luke saw his father sitting at a table. Luke stopped. He really didn't want to do this right now. Lukily, his father apparently felt the same way, because he just looked at Luke and didn't come over. Luke sighed with relief and hurried to join his friends.

They all sat down at a table and ordered dinner. Luke looked around at his friends. Since this trip was his idea, he asked everyone,

"So, everyone had a good time, right? I mean, this was a good idea, right? I told you guys this was a good idea."

The group had to smile at their friend's enthusiasm. There were murmurs of agreement all around.

Luke continued, "The snowboarding was good. And Anna, the skiing was good, too?

"Yup, really good. Thanks for suggesting it. I'll have to come back here again sometime." If she wasn't going back to Pittsburgh...

With a knowing smurk, Luke looked at Seth and Summer. "And I think we all know that Cohen and Summer had a good time..."

Summer reached over and hit Luke. "Luke! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

The rest of the group laughed.

Marissa picked it up, "And the snow tubing was fun, right?"

More murmurs of agreement.

The group settled down into smalltalk and had a nice relaxing dinner.

* * *

After dinner, they all headed up to their rooms to pack up. On the way up, Marissa told Summer that she was going with Anna, and Ryan told Seth that he was going with Luke and his father.

As Ryan packed up his stuff, he thought about this weekend. It was a little strange for him -- a mixture of the upper-class ski resort stuff, and the working-class job as a busboy and the house party. Ryan laughed to himself. It was kind of like his life -- a mixture of both.

Luke interrupted Ryan's thoughts. "Hey, man, are you ready?"

Ryan looked over at Luke. "Yeah."

Ryan and Luke grabbed their dufflebags and headed down to the lobby to wait for Luke's father. Luke didn't want to go to his father's room because he didn't want to see his father with his friend, so he told his father that he'd meet him in the lobby.

Carson knew that Luke didn't want to see him with Keith, so he said goodbye to Keith in their room, then headed down to the lobby to meet up with Luke. He spotted Luke sitting on a chair, waiting for him, and went over. Ryan and Luke saw him coming, and stood up.

"OK, Luke, let's go." Then Carson saw Ryan. He said, surprised, "Oh, Ryan --"

Luke interjected, "He's coming with us."

Carson turned to Ryan. "Why don't you go home in your own car?"

Ryan exchanged a look with Luke, then answered Luke's father, "Seth and Summer wanted to be alone."

"I still think you should head back in the Cohens' car."

"Dad, Seth and Summer have already left." Luke made sure that they left before he caught up with his father.

Carson looked between Luke and Ryan. This was a little bit too suspicious. Obviously, Luke didn't want to be alone with him. Carson had been hoping to talk to Luke about his drinking on the way home. Since he was dropping Luke off at his mother's tonight, Carson wouldn't be able to talk to Luke about it until he saw him again, in a couple of weeks. Obviously, Luke was trying to take advantage of this to avoid the talk altogether.

Carson sighed. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now, if Seth had already left. He couldn't very well just leave Ryan stranded here.

"OK, fine. Come on then you two, let's go."

Luke and Ryan exchanged a quick look then followed Luke's Dad out to his car.

As Luke's father pulled out of the parking lot, Ryan took one last look back at the ski resort. Well, this was the end of his very first ski trip. He had fun, maybe a little bit unconventional fun, but fun nevertheless.

* * *

**The End.**

* * *

**The answer to the trivia question from chapter 8.**

Question: What do all of my original characters' names have in common?

Answer:

.

.

Are you ready?

.

.

Are you sure?

.

.

You're sure you don't want to guess?

.

.

OK, if you're sure...

.

.

Answer: They are all part of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

**Keith** Foulke -- relief pitcher (closer)  
**Scott Williamson** -- relief pitcher  
David **Ortiz** -- first baseman and designated hitter  
Terry **Francona** -- manager  
Manny **Ramirez** -- left fielder  
Byung-Hyun **Kim** -- pitcher  
Trot **Nixon** -- right fielder

Congratulations if you got it right!


End file.
